SWINE 



531 



acre. The yield in this experiment was 

 at the rate of 19 tons of sugar beets and 

 37.4 tons of mangels per acre. The hogs 

 were allowed to gather the crop them- 

 selves. It is stated that hogs scour con- 

 siderably when turned onto roots in this 

 way unless considerable dry food is given 

 the first few days. "Butcher hogs come 

 off this kind of feed paunchy and require 

 three or four weeks' feeding to fit them 

 for market. This method should bring 

 breeding stock into winter condition in 

 strong, vigorous shape." The pigs dug 

 the roots out to the very tip. Sugar 

 beets proved superior to either turnips 

 or mangels at the Ottawa station. 



At the Colorado station, Buffum and 

 Griffith fed sugar beets and sugar beet 

 pulp to hogs, and arrived at the conclu- 

 sion that sugar beets for swine feeding, 

 either alone or in combination with 

 grain, are unprofitable, since green pas- 

 ture would probably serve the purpose of 

 furnishing succulent foods at a less ex- 

 pense. When fed alone, sugar beets 

 were a little more than a maintenance 

 ration. In the station experiments, 

 sugar beets and sugar beet pulp proved 

 equally valuable for feeding, and be- 

 cause of the cheapness and effect on 

 growth it is thought that pulp may be 

 profitably fed to growing pigs in con- 

 nection with a grain ration, or during 

 the first part of the fattening period. 



When fed with grain, sugar beets or 

 sugar beet pulp had a. value of about 

 $1.50 per ton as a food for hogs. It was 

 necessary to mix the pulp with grain in 

 order to teach the pigs to eat it. The 

 station recommends that not more than 

 2 pounds of pulp to a pound of grain 

 be given in a ration for hogs weighing 

 from 100 to 200 pounds. 



At the Montana station, 100 pounds 

 of sugar beets saved 38 pounds of grain 

 worth 1 cent per pound, which gave the 

 sugar beets a value of $7.60 per ton 

 for hog feed. The sugar beets were fed 

 raw and were greatly relished. The 

 station holds that while a straight grain 

 ration produced gain rapidly, it is the 

 most expensive method of feeding, and 

 that roots or some similar material 

 should be fed with it. Sugar beets are 

 stated to be just as valuable raw as 

 cooked for hogs and should not be fed 

 in larger quantities than 2 to 2.5 pounds 

 per day to hogs weighing 150 pounds. 

 Ped too freely they have a laxative ef- 

 fect. They have given good results when 



fed in larger quantities with store hogs, 

 receiving very little grain during the 

 winter, and for brood sows. "They have 

 a tendency to prevent a torpid condi- 

 tion of the digestive tract, render partu- 

 rition more easy, increase the flow of 

 milk, and produce vigorous offspring." 



They should be fed to the sow only in 

 small quantities during the first week 

 after farrowing; otherwise they arc 

 likely to affect the milk, causing bowel 

 trouble among the young pigs. 



The station experiments show conflict- 

 ing results in regard to the use and 

 value of sugar beets. A study of the 

 data, however, indicates that in small 

 amounts, 2 to 5 pounds per day, sugar 

 beets may serve a very useful purpose 

 in the rations for hogs, cheapening the 

 gain, giving tone to the system of the 

 hog, and reducing the cost of the gains. 

 The pulp seems to answer every purpose 

 of the original sugar beet and when 

 available may be used in place of the 

 sugar beets. The beets should be fed 

 sliced. Cooking is probably without 

 benefit for this crop. 



Sweet potatoes — Sweet potatoes are 

 fed more or less extensively throughout 

 the South to hogs. They are available 

 from September to November and the 

 hogs do their own harvesting. 



Professor Duggar reports that sweet 

 potatoes are eaten with but little relish. 

 When two shotes were fed five weeks on 

 sweet potato pasture with one-half ra- 

 tion of grain in addition, they gained 

 but 67 pounds, requiring 3.1 pounds of 

 grain for a pound of growth. 



In another experiment at the station, 

 1 pound of corn was found considerably 

 more valuable than 3 pounds of sweet 

 potatoes for hogs. Valuing corn at 40 

 cents per bushel, sweet potatoes were 

 worth about 13 cents per bushel for hogs. 

 That station believes that sweet potatoes 

 cannot be profitably grown, stored and 

 fed to hogs, even if each bushel could 

 be converted into pork worth 10 to 15 

 cents. Sweet potatoes, however, may be 

 cheaper food for hogs than corn if the 

 hogs are allowed to gather the potatoes 

 themselves, and soils are used that yield 

 10 to 15 times as many bushels of sweet 

 potatoes as corn. Sweet potatoes are 

 of greatest value when supplemented 

 with liberal allowances of cowpeas or 

 peanuts. The Arkansas station also re- 

 ports that pigs do not take readily to 

 sweet potatoes or gain as rapidly in flesh 

 as pigs on peanuts. 



